Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Lesley Gore In Rock & Roll Heaven

Lesley Gore was not just another chick singer that emerged from the sixties. I knew her as a feminist & never shied away from being gay with her partner of 33 years Lois Sasson at her side. Lesley Gore died from lung cancer at 68. I grew up listening to Lesley on the radio belting out hits like “It’s My Party”, “Judy’s Turn To Cry” & “You Don’t Own Me” but it was in the late 80’s in NYC that I met her while she was performing with Lou Christie singing a medley of "Since I Don't Have You" & "Only Make Believe" on the nostalgia circuit. I remember she once told me this story when she was performing in London at the beginning of her career while she was making the interview rounds just after pop singer Darlene Love had come through & the Brit media kept calling her Lesley love to the point when she started believing Lesley Love was actually her name. Gore continued to perform for decades. In 2005 after she formally came out, she was one of the hosts of “In the Life” the PBS LGBT newsmagazine series stating, “I decided to host a couple of the 'In The Life' programs. And I did that really as a result of meeting a lot of young gay people in the Midwest who really had nothing to relate to. At least I felt this program is presenting them with some options.” WATCH VIDEOLISTEN: Shahid Manning Talks 1st LGBT Millennia Scope Oscar GalaHear Audio Interviews w/ LGBT Leaders@OUTTAKE VOICES™OUTTAKE VOICES™ NOW ON HUFF POST...:)SUPPORT OUTTAKE™ @ OUR EQUALITY STORE